The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

Maybe you still don’t know exactly what a Bitcoin is, but in case you ever want to use one, it’d be comforting to know you’ve got some protection when spending the cryptocurrency. New York has taken a step in the direction of keeping consumers’ safe with a proposed plan that sets up a regulatory framework for any business dealing with bitcoins.

That draft includes consumer protection, anti-money laundering compliance and cybersecurity rules, all of which will be up for a public commenting period of 45 days as of July 23.

On the consumer front, the BitLicense plan has rules covering the safeguarding of consumer assets, a requirement for businesses to issue consumers virtual currency receipts and a stipulation that businesses must establish and maintain written consumer complaint policies in order to “resolve consumer complaints in a fair and timely manner.”

Each company also has to provide notice to consumers that they can bring complaints to the DFS’ attention if they’d like the department to look into an issue further.

And because the bitcoin industry is just a young thing, businesses also have to provide “clear and concise” disclosures to consumers telling them about the potential risks of using virtual currencies. That includes the fact that once you’ve completed a transaction, the funds might not be recoverable, and that it’s not legal tender and is not backed by the government, among other things.

“We have sought to strike an appropriate balance that helps protect consumers and root out illegal activity – without stifling beneficial innovation,” says Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services. “Setting up common sense rules of the road is vital to the long-term future of the virtual currency industry, as well as the safety and soundness of customer assets.”